1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an automotive vehicle of the type wherein at least a part of upper-half of a vehicle body is so configurated as to be detachable or foldable, and more particularly to a stoplight arrangement in an automotive vehicle of this type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to signal the braking of a motor vehicle to following automotive vehicles as quickly as possible, a stoplight arrangement has been recently proposed in which stoplights are disposed, in addition to usual stoplights located at the vehicle body rear section, in a location higher than that of the usual stoplights, for example, on a rear windshield.
However, the following drawbacks have been encountered in such a stoplight arrangement in case of a motor vehicle of the type wherein not only a rear windshield but also at least a part of or whole a vehicle roof section including the rear windshield is detachable or foldable to form an opening at the upper-half of the vehicle body. In the vehicle where at least a part of or whole the vehicle roof section is detachable, the stoplights are unavoidably removed from the vehicle body when the vehicle roof section has been detached. In a vehicle where at least a part of or the whole of the vehicle roof section is foldable by means of a folding hood or the like, the stoplights are unavoidably covered with the folded hood when the roof section has been folded thereby making impossible to signal the braking of the vehicle to the succeeding vehicle.
To solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, it may be suggested to dispose the stoplights on a rear parcel shelf or inside the rear windshield. However, in this case, a relatively large-sized shade members are required to be disposed between the stoplights and the windshield to prevent the reflection of light from the stoplights on the surface of the windshield. This leads to disadvantages from economical viewpoint due to necessity of the shade members and from operational viewpoint due to the fact that the shade members narrow the rear sight of the vehicle.